You’re likely already read the printing adventures by our own GeekMoms over the course of the week. I am admittedly a bit of a Harry Potter fangirl, so this project seemed like a no-brainer for me. Kodak Design Gallery Software featuring Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ boasted all sorts of wicked good fun, and seeing the faces of my familiar and favorite characters come to life in a variety of creative (and with a decidedly Potterian aesthetic) was equally exciting.
But let me start at the beginning.
Because any good project is only as good as our printer. For reference, we had an HP all-in-one before Kodak sent the ESP C310 my way. And we were generally happy with it. At least, marginally so. I mean, printers are only as good as the ink you use, right? And the last time we went and bought ink (right before a hurried convention appearance where I was supposed to be printing out little cards for promotion) we just about broke bank. Not to mention that the printer was notoriously finicky with my MacBook Pro.
Well, I’m happy to report that there were no such problems with the Kodak All-in-One ESP C310. Setup was a snap, and after a restart and a short calibration period, we were connected to the printer via wireless network. Wireless printing is one of those things I marvel at, still. Geek that I am I can’t help but feel like printing without a cord in the middle is just a little magic.
Add to that that the price of ink for the ESP C310 is significantly lower than our previous printer, and that the print quality is great… well, I’m a happy camper, let’s just say.
Now. On to the projects. You’ve seen this week that there are many possibilities when it comes to projects with the Kodak Design Gallery Software featuring Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™. That’s no surprise. I love the many symbols and designs, and they really all do evoke a sense of the world of Harry Potter, right down to the menus and elements in the program.
However, I am biased. Sure, there are all sorts of camps when it comes to the Harry Potter oeuvre. But personally there is no home like the Burrow, and no hero like Ron Weasley. Okay so he’s a little tempestuous at times. And the whole fight between Ron and Harry really dragged out in Book Four, to the point where I wanted to knock both their skulls together. But when it comes down to it, Weasley really is my king. He’s the most likely character to make me laugh, cry, and giggle. Yes, admittedly I have a thing for ginger guys. But that’s hardly the point!
While there were a few odd bugs with the Macintosh version — switching between windows caused the program to blank out until I clicked on “Home” and it does not fill the whole screen — the tweenager in me was still quite thrilled to print a project featuring my most favorite wizard. And if I were so inclined I could also emblazon his face upon banners, doorhangers, and calendars, all as easily as if I had a wand of my own.
Just don’t call me Lavender.
At any rate! If you, too, would like to experience a great printer with some fun software, remember that Kodak and GeekMom are giving away the last and final bundle this week. All you’ve got to do is comment on Monday’s post to enter.
What are you waiting for? Appararate over there already.
Hi–Just wanted to share my experience. Bought the Harry Potter software on your reco and was REALLY disappointed. I wanted to make an invitation and CD label for my son’s birthday. While there are a lot of bells and whistles here in how things fly in and out of the software, there is very limited content, very fixed layouts along with some generic backgrounds.
I got the Hallows version since you said it included a lot of the previous content. But I didn’t see any young cast shots.
Looked for a photo of the castle…none, except 1 or 2 very dark ones with lots of other items in the photo. How about a Quidditch photo then? A flying car? Something? HELP. OK then, Hargid? OK… finally1 photo on the motorcycle with Harry (or a group shot was the only other Hagrid choice I saw)
If you want some basic fixed formats then this is cute. You can add a few icons or pieces of clip art, House shields, a couple of the spells etc. But not much. You can’t add anything of your own into it either. Doesn’t do CD labels either.
I ended up using some of the artwork in another program that was more flexible and got me a cheerful & fun invite (not dark), featuring my son along with some photos I found on Google Image. Not worth the $25 with shipping I paid for it.
Even worse, now I find that you cannot even get your creations “out” of the software….the only way out is to…print it. So if you want to email it, post on the web, or refine it with Pulbisher or Photoshop to make a CD LABEL or something else, you are out of luck.
No support for the software, contact the software vendor Gartner Studios at 1-888-235-0484. Waited on hold for a loooong time “your projects are stored in the program itself. Once you insert the disk, you will find them in program under the folder “Saved Projects” Duh. This software is going right back to Kodak!
How can i get hold of this software now?